Out for a Pound
by Destany Mitchell
Summary: Anyone else notice the look in Shawn's eyes when Juliet called her father out for conning her? Well…here's my take what happens next. Post ep for "In for a Penny". Light spoilers for the episode. Rated T for minor swearing to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

**Out for a Pound**

**Summary**: Anyone else notice the look in Shawn's eyes when Juliet called her father out for conning her? Well…here's my take what happens next. Post ep for "In for a Penny".

**Disclaimer**: If you think I own this, you need to re-evaluate your perspective on life. No profiting - besides my own enjoyment of reading reviews and writing fiction - is being made on this. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N**: Intended to be a one-shot, but I may continue this. Still on the fence about that one. I guess your reviews will help determine if I will decide to continue or leave it as it is.

* * *

><p>Burton "Fearless" Guster sat at his desk in the Psych office, half heartedly trying to balance the Psych bank account. With his immature best friend, Gus was lucky they didn't overdraw. Shawn Spencer, (fake) Psychic Detective, probably still believed money just magically grew on trees.<p>

With a sigh of frustration, Gus lifted his head to yell at his best friend that if he was not responsible enough to save his receipts, he was going to revoke his debit card privileges. And remove him as a signer on the account. Maybe even dissolve the "partnership" and remove Shawn's name from the business all together. He could do it. It's not like Shawn would ever notice.

He opened his mouth to begin his rant and paused as he took in his friend across the room. Shawn sat at his desk, but instead of playing video games, playing paper basketball or football, ranting about Lassie or his Dad (sometimes both simultaneously), or even just plain twitching like a five year old, Shawn was sitting completely still, staring blankly out the window.

With an annoyed sigh, Gus turned around to see what held his friend's attention, ready to smack him if it was some hot chick. Really, the dude had a girlfriend who was crazy enough to love him. He did not need to be checking out random chicks. Gus' survey showed no one of interest outside. He scanned again to see if he could spot the slushie guy, ice cream cart, or any number of distractions for his friend. None were in sight.

"Shawn?" Gus inquired, turning back around to face his friend. Shawn gave no indication he heard Gus. With a sigh, Gus snapped "Shawn!"

"What?" Shawn snapped back, looking annoyed.

"Are you…ok?" Gus asked, studying his friend now that the blank, far-away look was out of his eyes. Behind the annoyance, Gus could see a touch of…something in his friends eyes. It wasn't exactly guilt but it was something akin to that.

"I'm fine," Shawn stated with a shrug, leaning back in his chair and twirling around. Gus narrowed his eyes, knowing the antic for what it was. Avoidance.

"You're….unusually quiet."

"Maybe I decided to start meditating."

Gus snorted, not even trying to hide his disbelief.

"Or maybe we're in a weird remake of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'."

"Gus, don't be a worry-wart," Shawn stated, shooting Gus a grin as he resumed spinning. "You know no one likes a worry-wart." Shawn paused a moment. "What exactly is a worry-wart anyway? I mean…warts can't worry, and"

"Shawn!" Gus snapped, cutting his friend off in mid thought, knowing if he didn't, Shawn would go on for hours about why warts can't worry and maybe even come up with some crazy explanation for how they could. Even Gus would be impressed if Shawn could come up with a logical explanation for that one.

"I'm serious…you haven't been this quiet since…" Gus trailed off as he tried to remember the last time Shawn hadn't been actively moving or going on about something. Beside the handful of hospital trips and Shawn's absence after high school….Gus couldn't remember a time that Shawn wasn't plotting something or just plain goofing off. It was who he was. Shawn didn't get serious…not often anyway. And definitely not quiet serious.

"Don't hurt yourself, Buddy." Shawn said, grinning at Gus as he tried to come up with an example. Gus glared at his friend.

"Not everyone has _your_ memory, Shawn."

Shawn just shrugged and entered another spin.

"Shawn, I'm serious. You don't start talking, I'll…I'll"

"Tell on me, Gus? We're not twenty-six anymore."

"Fine. Don't tell me what's bothering you. See if I care." Gus stated, turning back to his desk and returning to his bank reconciliation. "And damn it, if you lose one more receipt from our Psych account, I am revoking your privileges! How the hell can you remember how many hats are in a room from one glance, but can't freaking keep track of a single receipt or the damn phone is a complete mystery to me! Maybe you should use those detective skills of yours to solve that!"

"Apparently Dad forgot something," Shawn muttered as he sighed heavily. "Iwanttotell Juliet." Shawn stated, the words coming out a jumbled mess, but after almost 30 years of friendship, Gus spoke fluent Shawn and knew exactly what came out of his mouth.

"Tell her what? That you would lose your head if it wasn't attached?"

"No. I want to tell her the truth."

"Which truth would that be?"

"Everything."

Gus snorted his response, but when he glanced over at Shawn, he saw a serious look in his best friend's eyes. Gus felt his blood run cold as his brain started to connect the pieces together. The silent contemplation, the avoidance, the look of complete and utter seriousness with a twinge of fear and desperation, it could only mean…but it couldn't. Shawn couldn't come clean. There was too much running on this one. Shawn wouldn't…but he wanted to.

"You don't mean about…" Gus waved his hand around the room to indicate the present location, not even wanting to voice the blasphemous words aloud. Shawn knew the consequences if he told the truth about Psych. Gus had made certain Shawn knew the consequences. Gus was also certain that Henry Spencer had also spent a fair amount of his time drilling that fact into Shawn's head as well.

"I have to."

"_Shawn_!"

"What Gus?"

"You can't…you tell her the truth, you're admitting to defrauding the police department! You will go to jail! I will go to jail! Your dad will go to jail!"

"I won't take you guys down with me." Shawn stated, simply.

"You can't promise that, Shawn!"

"Yes I can!"

"How, pray-tell, Shawn, can you promise _that_?"

"I coerced you into agreeing to do this."

"Right, like everyone is going to let your Dad and me off scot free for being accessories to defrauding the police department and letting them believe you are a psychic!"

"They won't. I promise you, Burton, if it comes down to it, I won't take you don't with me." Shawn stated, his voice completely serious and Gus couldn't argue with his tone or the use of his first name. Shawn never called him by his first name; from day one, he had always been "Gus" and never Burton. He honestly meant it. He would not let him go to jail for this. Not if there was something that Shawn could do about it.

Gus felt his legs grow weak and he didn't even remember standing up. He collapsed back into his chair and looked across the room at Shawn.

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"I…I knew it was going to come out eventually. I mean…she's eventually going to figure it out sooner or later. I always thought…I don't know. I honestly don't know what I thought, but I knew it would happen eventually."

"Why now?"

Shawn sighed and looked down at the desk.

"I just…it hit me. What we were doing."

"What do you mean?"

"We're cons."

"Shawn, we're not"

"It's the same thing, Gus. We make our living by lying to people and profiting from it. We can tell ourselves we're doing to for the good of people, and a big part of me is alright with that. We help people. We save people and that's a jillion times better than most cons can say, and I'm ok with that. Hell, you and my dad are even ok with that. But I can't keep lying to Juliet. I can't keep coning her too if I expect us to keep working."

"Shawn-"

"It's true, Gus. You know it's true."

Silence passed between the two friends, both lost in their own thoughts.

"What brought this on?"

Shawn sighed.

"Like I said, in the back of my mind, I've been thinking about it for awhile. But it really hit me when I heard Jules say something to Frank. When she ran out of the police station after she realized her dad was working the con…I followed her outside. I just…I don't know. I wanted to do something for her, I guess. I heard them arguing and I stayed back…I'm not even sure if she knew I was there, but at the end of their argument, Jules said something and I can't stop thinking about it."

"What did she say?" Gus asked his voice sympathetic as he realized the cause for his friend's thoughts and guilt.

"'So congratulations, Frank. Your longest con of all was on your own daughter.'" Shawn said with a wince. "You should have heard her, Gus. The way she said it…" Shawn shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. "I just…I can't do that to her too. I can't. I won't. Not anymore."

"I just…how do you think she'll react?" Gus asked, knowing that Shawn was set on this decision and it was time to be a friend and not a business associate.

"I don't know," Shawn stated with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I know she'll be angry, probably disappointed too. I think Jules and Buzz are the only ones at the precinct who actually believe I am psychic." Shawn sighed again. "I can deal with that…I think. But I also think…if she lets me explain, I think she'll be ok with it. Not happy…but, you saw what she did when she found out about her dad. She didn't turn him in." Shawn, stated, his voice almost pleading as he stated the last part. Gus nodded his understanding and Shawn continued, wincing as he said the next words. "She just…banished him – or tried to – from her life."

"Are you sure?"

"No. But I know I can't keep doing this to her either. It's either tell her the truth or break up with her, and I don't really want to do either. I don't want to lose her, Gus. So…what choice do I have?"

Gus honestly didn't know what to say in response to Shawn's question. The pleading look in Shawn's eyes spoke volumes. He honestly did not want to do this. Gus could read the anxiety and fear in Shawn's eyes. Shawn really did know what this could mean for him; for all of them, if Juliet reacted like a cop instead of a girlfriend. That still didn't answer the question. There were only two options at this point. Tell the truth or keep the lie going. The easiest thing would be to just keep this going. To tell Shawn he was making a mistake going down this path he had settled on. But he also knew, it was the cowards way out. Like Shawn said before, it was going to come out eventually. It wouldn't hurt to have someone else on their side, someone reputable, to smooth things over when shit hit the fan.

Gus sighed.

"You have to tell her," Gus whispered, feeling his stomach churning uneasily at the words.

"I promise, Gus, you won't go to jail for this. I won't allow it."

Gus smiled at Shawn and nodded.

"You know that's right."

Both friends smiled uneasy smiles. Shawn looked away first.

"Just…tell me how it goes, ok? I'd rather not be blindsided when the police come to arrest me."

"I told you"

"Promise me, Shawn."

Shawn nodded in response. That was good enough for Gus. Shawn never expressly promised anything he couldn't guarantee.

"When are you going to tell her?"

"Tonight,"

"That fast, hu?"

"I need to get it over with," Shawn stated, looking almost as ill as Gus was feeling.

"Yeah," Gus said, with a sigh. "On the bright side, you get yourself arrested tonight, I don't have to worry about this damn bank account anymore."

Shawn grinned.

"Always think of the positive."

"And I can focus on my _real_ job."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Psych is our real job?"

"And I won't be babysitting you anymore cuz you'll be locked up..." Gus paused before looking back at Shawn again, humor in his eyes. "Maybe you should have told her ages ago."

"I am wounded."

"You will get over it," Gus stated, grinning at Shawn.

"You'd miss me." Shawn stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I would get work done."

"You'd miss me more than you'd enjoy being a full-time drug dealer."

"You keep telling yourself that, Shawn."

"De-ni-al." Shawn stated, his voice sing-song as he spoke the singular word. "And I don't need a babysitter."

Gus just raised an eyebrow in response, turning back to his bank reconciliation, not even sure why he was bothering. It wasn't like he would be able to tell if the bank really did make an error or not.

Silence filled the office again as the friends went back to work. Gus noted that Shawn seemed to be more himself, fiddling with things and actively doing something on his computer, though he did notice the glances at the clock. Nervous tension seemed to grow as the day went on. Gus still wasn't as sure about Juliet's reaction as Shawn was. Yeah, she didn't turn in her father, but he was her father. That couldn't be easy. Neither would turning in Shawn; he was…_Shawn_. But it wasn't the same.

Gus sighed, finally giving up on the reconciliation and forcing his checkbook to match the bank, deciding it was worthless to even try to keep the thing balanced.

"Want to go for smoothies?" Gus asked, breaking the silence.

"I want to, but Jules is off in five minutes," Shawn stated. "I need to go and meet her." He added, looking a bit reluctant, sick, and happy all at once.

"Shawn, just…be careful with this, ok?"

"I know what I'm doing, Gus." An eyebrow raise was the only response Shawn received. "OK, I don't know what I'm doing, but…I'm going to do this."

"Shawn,"

"I know, Gus." Shawn stated, getting up to head for the door before turning around and looking at Gus. "Smoothies and Jerk Chicken tomorrow. You're buying."

"If we're not in jail, and why am I buying?"

Shawn just grinned and lifted his hand to his temple for a moment.

"I just know." He lowered his hand, his expression serious. "Later, Dude."

"Later," Gus stated, not as confident about getting smoothies and chicken tomorrow as Shawn was.

* * *

><p>Pulling up to Juliet's building, Shawn Spencer parked his bike and turned off the engine. He sighed heavily as he unbuckled his helmet, his fingers fumbling a bit at the task that was almost second nature to him.<p>

_Get a grip!_ He told himself as he took the helmet in his shaking hands.

Taking a shaky breath, Shawn dismounted his bike and, not trusting his shaking fingers, placed the helmet on the back.

Swallowing the feeling to throw up (and run away), Shawn hurried up the path to Juliet's building, knowing if he hesitated a moment longer, he would chicken out and never have this conversation. He wasn't even sure if he was able to go through with it; but he was going to try. He knew this wasn't going to end well, but he hoped that with time and a long conversation, Juliet would come to understand why he did what he did.

Walking up the steps, he raised his hand to knock when the door opened.

"Shawn, you're early!" Juliet stated as she opened her door, a happy grin on her face. As she took in her boyfriends' expression, her smile began to fall. "Shawn, what's wrong?"

"Jules…we need to talk." Shawn stated, his voice serious.


	2. Chapter 2

**…Out for a Pound**

**A/N: **WOW! Is all I have to say at the amazing feedback from you guys. I know I said I was undecided about continuing, but the more I read your reviews, the more I realized I couldn't leave it hanging, because, you were right. This NEEDED a continuation. I've been known to leave one-shots lie and use cliffhangers, and I realized my problem with the original "Out for a Pound" wasn't that it wasn't (to blow my own horn) very well written or in character, it was that it was unfinished. To use my prior history in other fandoms on message boards: I'm a drama queen and the queen of evil and the evil side wanted to leave it alone, but the drama side was salivating to continue. So, I sat down and got to plotting and thinking about this and where it could go. When I first started, I wasn't even sure where to go and chapter two was the result. This was originally going to be written in first person, but third just felt better, cleaner, as I was writing along. Anyway, there will be a total of four chapters if this all works out. I thought about doing them as individual one-shots, but they deserve to be one cohesive fiction since they more than relate. So all of you people continuing to read this, thank all those people who reviewed begging for more because it was those reviews that really made me sit down, re-read chapter one and start to plot this through. I hope I did your expectations justice. This chapter only had one read-through performed by my bestie who "shares my brain" so any mistakes are my doing, not hers. And, as always, I own nothing (except my cat) sadly.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_So, that was it_. Shawn Spencer thought as the door clicked closed behind him. Feeling unstable, he leaned back against the door, trying to remember how to breathe and to keep himself from throwing up all over Juliet's stairs. His stomach felt like it was twisted into several complicated knots, and it still kept twisting. His chest was tight and his heart was hammering so hard, he might be having a mild heart attack.

Taking a deep breath, Shawn shoved away from the door and raced down the steps and towards his Norton. As he swung one leg over the bike, he couldn't help but glance back at the apartment door he had just abandoned.

The naïve part of him expected Juliet to race out of the apartment, yelling for him not to go, to come back and they could talk some more. She'd ask questions, he'd answer, and they'd eventually kiss and make up and everything would go back to how it was; perfect.

_Grow up_, a voice scoffed in the back of his mind, sounding suspiciously like his father. _This is real life, Kid. Not some 80s movie. _

Scowling, Shawn shoved the helmet on his head, not bothering to secure it properly, and shoved the key into the ignition. As the motorcycle came to life, Shawn revved the engine a couple times before taking off. He didn't even know where he was going, he just knew he had to get away.

_Coward. _The voice taunted him again.

_She kicked me out, what choice did I have? _

Shoving all the voices to the back of his mind, Shawn gave the bike a bit more gas, pushing the speed limits but at the moment, he didn't care. He needed to clear his mind, to forget for a moment what just transpired at Juliet's. He needed this sickening feeling to go away so he could analyze what just happened. His "gift" didn't work properly when he was worked up; he needed to find a way to calm down so he could rewind the last hour of his life and figure out what the hell to do next.

His first instinct was to run to his father's house, but Shawn quickly stomped that instinct away, knowing there was no way he could deal with his father right now. It would only end badly, for both of them, and he wasn't that desperate (yet). And he wasn't ready to hash this out with Gus yet, either, knowing he was breaking his promise to talk to Gus ASAP, Shawn winced and changed course towards the Psych office.

Noting the absence of the Blueberry, Shawn parked his bike, ditched the helmet and headed down towards the pier.

_Still running away, Shawn? _The voice taunted him again.

Gritting his teeth and shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, Shawn kept walking, his eyes focused on the water. He really needed to evaluate his sanity later. Sighing, Shawn sat down at an empty bench. A quick glance around the area showed nothing of interest going on. Shaking his head to clear it, Shawn propped his elbows on his thighs and rest his head in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, rewinding his brain to the final moments in Juliet's apartment.

_That was it. He had done it. Shawn let out a long breath he didn't realize he was even holding and turned his nervous gaze to Juliet. Some point during his explanations, he had started to pace. He wasn't even sure when it started, but he spun around to look at Juliet, to gauge her reaction, but he couldn't see her face from this angle. Panic started to set in. During the whole explanation, Juliet hadn't said a word. She hadn't so much as twitched as far as he knew. _

"_Jules?" _

_He winced as his voice came out a couple octaves higher than normal. _

_Silence stretched between them. Shawn could feel his blood running cold. _

_Nearly tripping over his feet, he rushed to Juliet, dropping hard onto his knees (it was going to hurt later) and tried to catch her gaze, but was unable to. _

"_Jules, Juliet, I…Please, just say something, anything. You're kind of freaking me out here." Shawn stated, biting back the hysterical laugh that threatened to release. _

"_Get out." She stated, her voice barely above a whisper, her tone flat and matter-of-fact. There was no malice to it, no anger, no anything. It was like she was saying the sky was blue or David Bowie wore his pants too tight in the Labyrinth. _

"_What?" _

_The word came out before he could stop himself. He had heard her perfectly clear. He knew what she said. His mouth wasn't connected to his brain and he couldn't stop himself. His brain screamed at him to say something, anything to make this better, but he was frozen at those two words. _

"_I said, get. Out." She repeated, her tone the same as before. She raised her head and looked into his eyes, and he knew he would never forget the look in her eyes. He could deal with anger and disappointment. Those two expressions, he had more than enough experience at seeing, but this…her eyes were red, blood shot. She looked like she might be about to cry, but there were no tears filling her eyes. There was no emotion there. Juliet always had the shiny-est look to her eyes. They lit up, even when she was upset or angry. It was cliché, but she had diamonds in her eyes and that was part of what he loved so much about her. But in that moment, the look was gone. There was no passion, no emotion, nothing. Her spark was gone. _

_He had killed her spark. _

_It was then that he lost the ability to breathe, that his stomach started to twist and twist. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg. He forgot how to breathe. He wanted to say something witty to make that spark come back to her eyes. He couldn't move. He would have done anything in that moment to take it all back. He couldn't look away. He would have given in and told his dad that every argument they ever had that Henry Spencer had been right. He couldn't think. He would have become a cop; he would have done anything it meant the light was back in Juliet's eyes. _

"_Jules, I-"_

"_Don't. Just…go, Shawn. Just go." _

_He didn't even remember getting up off the floor. He felt so unsteady that he wasn't even sure how his feet managed to carry him across the room. He felt like someone had torn out his soul and ripped it to shreds. That walk from Juliet's couch to her door was the longest walk he'd ever made in his life. He would take getting shot and running through the woods for his life over this. _

"_Shawn, I-" _

_Hope rushed through him as his hand touched the door knob, but he didn't turn around. He didn't dare. _

"_I just…I need to think, ok?" _

_The hope died with that statement. Her words sounded good, but the delivery was off. It still sounded lifeless. He couldn't stop the thought that crossed his mind. _It's over.

"_You know where to find me," Shawn managed to choke out. Before anything else could be said, or done, he opened the door and closed it behind him. _

Before Shawn could rewind the memory, to find something he might have missed in Juliet's reactions, bile rose in his throat. Wincing, Shawn took a deep, shaky breath and waited the feeling out. Sitting up, Shawn looked up at the sky and let out a frustrated sigh. This was useless. He wasn't going to see anything else. He had been too wrapped up in his own feelings at the time to keep his eyes stayed on her the whole time.

Shawn shook his head, groaning in frustration at his inability to analyze. He was too close to this, he knew. Henry would tell him to man up, push the emotions aside, and deal with this like a man, but damn it, this was Jules! And who was his father to give him relationship advice anyway? Everyone knew how his ended.

Shawn winced at the thought, knowing it wasn't fair, but he couldn't help it. He was drowning and he was without a life preserve. He had no idea how to get himself out of this one. Talking wasn't going to help him. Running wasn't going to make it go away, but this hanging…this out of control feeling was not natural to him. He honestly had no idea what was going to happen and the thought scared him.

"Shawn?"

Shawn snapped his head around to see his best friend rushing towards him, looking annoyed and relieved. Shawn frowned at the look, but remained silent until Gus sat down on the bench next to him.

"You didn't call me," Gust stated matter-of-factly. He didn't sound angry, annoyed, disappointed or anything. Shawn was growing to hate that tone more and more by the minute.

"I know."

"Did you tell her?" Gus asked, his tone hesitant.

"Yeah," Shawn said with a sigh, leaning tipping his head back and looking up at the sky. He was surprised to see the stars were beginning to make an appearance. He honestly had no idea how long he had been sitting here on this bench. The thought was a bit disturbing.

There was a moment of silence between the two friends as that one word sank in. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but not exactly easy either. It was heavy with the weight of the confession but neither felt the need to break it. That was the best part of being friends for nearly thirty years. Sometimes, words weren't needed. Sometimes, it was enough to just…be.

"I was going to call you," Shawn stated after a long moment, tilting his head back down and looking over at Gus. "I just…I had to think."

"I'm not mad," Gus stated and Shawn nodded his understanding. "I couldn't sit at home any longer…I was just…wondering. And I came here," Gus shrugged. "I honestly didn't expect to find you here. If anything, I was prepared to find a postcard in the mail by the end of the week."

"I'm not going anywhere, Gus."

"But you thought about it?"

"All of a second," Shawn admitted with a sigh. "I can't help it. Its instinct to run, but it's not going to help, not this time. Running will, at worst, make me a felon and, at best, eventually forget about Juliet, and I don't want either of those things."

"So she didn't take it well?"

"She didn't say much more than 'get out' and 'I need time'," Shawn stated, not even bothering to try and sound chipper about it; there wasn't a point anyway. Gus would see right through any false cheeriness.

Gus winced in response.

"My thoughts exactly," Shawn sighed.

"So, I guess the question is: what are you going to do now?"

"The zillion dollar question," Shawn muttered.

"You don't have a plan?"

"Nope," Shawn stated, popping the p.

"You always got a plan," Gus stated, unconvinced.

"Not this time, Buddy," Shawn stated, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I just…I can't seem to think straight. Every time I think about Juliet, I want to throw up, which is not a very endearing thought, come to think of it, but I just…I can't think about losing her. That's just…I can't even fathom it, Gus." Shawn laughed, his tone bitter. "Two months ago, I was scared out of my mind when Jules told me about the drunk dial move in and now I can't even remember why the thought scared me so much."

"You're in love with her," Gus stated simply.

"I know that," Shawn snapped.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"OK, _Dad_," Shawn snapped, getting annoyed at his best friend. "What can I do? Juliet kicked me out of her apartment, probably call blocked me, possibly has Lassie hired as an assassin, or has already alerted the rest of the department about you-know-what, and I've been over this a thousand times in my head and am coming up blank. So, Gus, why don't you tell me what the hell you want me to do?"

Shawn leaned forwards and put his head in his hands and Gus looked out into the ocean. Silence fell between the friends as they weighed the options.

"We're screwed." Gus stated, trying to sound light-hearted but failing.

"Pretty much." Shawn muttered.

"Want to hurry up and get a smoothie before they close for the night?"

"As much as I want to believe in the amazing power of a pineapple smoothie, I don't fancy the idea of it tasting so good a second time."

Gus nodded his acknowledgement and silence fell between the two friends, both alone in their thoughts.

"And now we wait," Gus muttered, his voice barely audible over the roar of the surf.

* * *

><p>TBC in Chapter Three - Juliet's thoughts as she processes all that Shawn has told her. Appearances will be made by Lassiter, Henry, Chief Vick and probably Buzz. I'm still undecided about Gus' role (or lack of) in the next one. Reviews do help feed my muse and provide tons of motivation to write faster ;)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long guys…you can kind of gauge why by the chapter length but I also had some issues on writing this. Don't worry, chapter four will be posted, I know it will probably be later rather than sooner. I guess that's what I get for trying to do a multi-shot right before tax season starts. Anyway, I hope the wait was worth it. Chapter Four should not contain the writing problems I was having with this one. Jules is a tricky character to nail…but I think I did her justice. Hope you guys enjoy this! Also, major Kudos and virtual pineapples to anyone who can catch the two references surrounding Jules' cat (I also know it's not canon but it worked for my purposes).

**Chapter Three**

Juliet O'Hara groaned as the alarm blared, jarring her from a mind-numbing sleep. Mumbling incoherently, she reached out and blindly smacked the thing off. She stretched in her bed, groaning as muscles stretched and began to waken. Groaning, Juliet snuggled back under the covers, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep and snuggle with her boyfriend than to face her day at the SBPD. Rolling over, Juliet was momentarily surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. A moment of confusion came over her as her eyes blinked blearily open. She couldn't even remember falling asleep the night before.

Sitting up and blinking into the darkness of her bedroom, Juliet listened for any signs of movement in the apartment. Usually on date-nights, Shawn spent the night, or vice-versa. It was odd that he wasn't there; especially since Shawn was not an early riser. As the fog of a bad nights sleep gave way, memories of the previous night came rushing back, reminding her why Shawn wasn't in her bed this morning.

Hands scrubbing her face, Juliet collapsed backwards onto the bed. She still did not know how to feel about Shawn's confession. When he first showed up at the door, and saw the serious look on his face, she remembered her heart plummeting to her feet. She was certain that this was it; that Shawn was going to break up with her. She never believed in a million years he would confess he wasn't a psychic. She didn't believe him, not at first. She kept waiting for him to drop the act, grin at her with that 'gotcha' grin of his and they'd laugh it off and enjoy the rest of their night together.

She still couldn't wrap her mind around his confession. It still seemed so…unreal.

Juliet shook her head, shoving the thoughts of Shawn away. She needed to get ready for work. As much as she wanted to call in with some lame excuse, those reports were not going to write themselves and she would lose that bet with Carlton over who would get all their reports done (completely, correctly and on the clock) first.

Shoving her blankets back, she slipped out of bed and moved into the bathroom. Completing her morning routine on autopilot, she moved into the kitchen to get some of the coffee she had turned on while blow-drying her hair and brushing her teeth. She reached into the cupboard and grabbed her favorite coffee mug and pulled it out of the cupboard. Before she could set it down on the counter, she her hand started to shake.

"_Jules, I'm not who you think I am," _

Before she could correct her grip, the mug fell from her hand and shattered on the floor. Juliet jumped with a gasp, and a sob.

"Damn it!" She yelled as Shawn's words from the night before echoed in her head.

"_Jules, I'm not who you think I am," _

Tears filling her eyes, Juliet bent down, and began picking up the larger pieces of the shattered glass, taking precautions to make sure she didn't accidentally cut herself and keeping an eye out for her cats. She did not need one of her pets to injure themselves by walking on the broken glass.

"_Shawn, what are you talking about?"_

"_Just…promise me you'll listen, ok? Just…let me get this out and you can say anything you want but I need to do this before I lose my nerve, ok?"_

Tears burned her eyes as she scooped up the glass and made her way to the trash can on the opposite side of the room. Opening a utility cupboard, she pulled out the broom and dust pan and cleaned up the rest of the glass, unshed tears beginning to cloud her vision. Blinking rapidly, she focused on cleaning the glass, trying to go back to that numb state she had this morning. She wasn't sure if she could make it through the day if she didn't achieve that state again.

"_I'm not a psychic."_

Throwing away the rest of the glass, Juliet couldn't stop the tears that escaped her control. Sniffling and wiping at her eyes, she tried to hold back the tears, knowing if she started crying now, she'd probably never stop.

She wasn't even sure why she was crying. She should have expected something like this. It seemed her whole life, she was the brunt of one gigantic joke. Her dad was a con-man, her brother was on the run from an attempted murder charge (she was supposed to be the one who arrested him), and her boyfriend had been lying to her for six years, and if that wasn't enough, he had also defrauded the police department by his psychic claim. She would, again, be in a position where she needed to arrest a loved one.

Another sob escaped her throat as tears blurred her vision and began to escape her eyes. She was angry she was crying. She didn't want to cry over this (again), she could deal with this like an adult. She didn't need to curl up in bed and cry her eyes out like a teenager, because damn it, she was an adult and she was a damn good detective and for just once, she'd like things to go right for a change.

The inner mantra did not help. If anything, it only made her cry harder. She didn't feel like an adult anymore. She felt like she was ten years old, and her Daddy disappointed her again.

"Mrow,"

A little voice startled Juliet out of her downward spiral of thoughts, rubbing himself against her leg, purring lightly. Smiling slightly through her tears, she picked up the little brown cat and scratched behind his ears. He purred louder in response. Nuzzling the ball of fluff in her arms, Juliet sat down on her couch and continued to pet her cat.

The irony of which cat came to her rescue was not lost on her. It was the kitten Shawn had given her on her last birthday. Technically, the kitten was a gift from Buzz McNabb. His cat apparently had kittens, and since Shawn was the one who had given McNabb the fluffy brown tabby in the first place, Buzz thought it was only appropriate Shawn have one of the kittens. Shawn, not knowing what else to do with a kitten, brought it over to her and announced "Jules, we just had a kitten!"

Smiling slightly at the memory, she continued scratching the cat's ears, wincing slightly as she remembered Shawn's other great idea. He had wanted to name the kitten Fluffer McKitty. Juliet had put her foot down and they had finally agreed on Jake, apparently the name of a cat in a late 70's movie, though Juliet had heard Shawn affectionately calling the cat Fluffer when he thought she wasn't close enough to hear.

Even when she was crying over him, the thought of Shawn brought a smile to her face and warmed her heart. And that was the problem; she loved him, but right now she didn't know if she could trust him, and that had never been a problem for them. That was what was breaking her heart. What she tossed and turned all night over was what to do with the information. She was a police officer and she had sworn an oath to uphold the law. She knew if this were anyone except Shawn, she would be reporting the fraud to the Chief and internal affairs, and the whole mess would eventually settle itself through lawyers, attorneys, and a messy courtroom. But it was _Shawn_ and that tiny voice wouldn't leave her alone.

"What am I going to do, Jakers?" Juliet murmured as she scratched the cat.

Jake offered no response but to continue purring contentedly in her arms. With a heavy sigh, she stopped petting the cat. Jake looked up at her indignantly.

"Sorry boy, but I've got to go to work," She muttered, feeling slightly better. She wasn't about to burst into tears, but she wasn't happy either, but she knew she could get through her day at the police department, and right now, that was all that mattered.

When Head Detective Carlton Lassiter got out of bed this morning, he knew it was going to be a good day. He left his house with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He drove his Ford Fusion to work without incident, traffic was unusually light, and was the first to get a cup of the good coffee made by the generous new secretary who actually _could_ make a decent pot. He was also pleased to note that a certain "Psychic" hadn't messed with his favorite mug or desk. Murmuring his appreciation as he sipped at the coffee, Lassiter made his way back to his desk and logged into his computer.

Deleting irrelevant messages from his inbox, Lassiter began the tedious task of finishing up his backlog of reports; he'd be damned if O'Hara got another free lunch out of him. He smiled smugly at her empty desk and got to work, smug satisfaction of knowing he only had five reports to finish and O'Hara had yet to make an appearance, a free lunch was definitely in his favor.

Settling in, Lassiter ignored the buzzing of the station around him and got to work. He was almost had the first report completed when he noticed O'Hara sit down across from him. He was momentarily surprised at her lack of a cheerful greeting, but he ignored the impulse to look away from his work and get wrapped up in whatever female drama his partner was currently experiencing.

From the corner of his eye, he could see O'Hara staring blankly at her monitor. He ignored the couple of sniffles he heard from her direction as well. So she has a cold. She's an adult, she could take care of herself. She didn't need _him_ to baby her and she could take it like a man and stop sulking; He was not going to put up with a whiny partner just because she had the sniffles.

"Carlton?"

"If you're not feeling well, O'Hara, don't go whining to me." He stated as he moved to the last paragraph. _Almost done_…

"I'm not sick..." She muttered with a sigh.

Lassiter resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Look, O'Hara, if this is one of your touchy-feely-girly things, forget it," He snapped, not looking away from his monitor as he typed the remaining sentence of his report.

"Carl-ton..."

The way she said his name, he couldn't ignore. Her tone was weak, whiny, and reminiscent of a small child and he hadn't heard his partner talk that way since the night on the clock tower. He felt his blood run cold at that tone, shoving aside memories he'd rather not think about, he sighed and finished his thought, saved his progress, and looked over at his partner.

To say she looked like crap would be an understatement. Her eyes were slightly blood shot, her face was blank and her clothes were still rumpled and the colors didn't quite match; it wasn't an obvious thing, but if you took in her appearance, it was enough that your mind knew something didn't quite work.

Concern reared its ugly head and he quickly stomped on emotion and shoved it aside. They were at work and they were reputable detectives and he would not have his partner acting like a sullen teenager because of some personal problems; personal problems were just that, personal, and they did not belong in the workplace.

"Just...oh forget it." She stated, sounding frustrated and looking more broken than she had when she first looked at him.

"O'Hara..."

"I'm fine, Carlton...I'm..." She took a deep breath, "I'm fine." She restated, as if to convince herself.

He knew he was going to regret what he said next later, but the words were out before he could stop them.

"Did Spencer do something to you?"

Anger flared through him at the thought. He would kill the psychic. He would kill him and he would be certain that it was long, painful, and no one would find the body (or what was left of it). He would make Shawn Spencer regret the day he even laid eyes on Juliet O'Hara by the time he was through with him.

The look of panic that flashed through Juliet's eyes did not go unnoticed by the head detective and he wondered what caused it.

"What makes you think"

"Your eyes are bloodshot, so that indicates a bad night sleep; your clothes are sloppy so that indicates a rush to get out of the house or a lack of care, and it's been almost three hours since I got in and I haven't seen or heard from the nuisance and you mentioned something yesterday about meeting up with him after work and that's just the tip of the iceberg. So, O'Hara, what did Spencer do?"

O'Hara dropped her gaze, staring at something on her desk. He noted the way she chewed on her lip, as if she was worried about something or unsure of what to say.

"I...just..." She sighed, frustration evident in the way she did it. She waved her hands and shook her head as she finished her thought "forget it."

"O'Hara"

"Carlton, just...it's fine, ok. Just...I know you don't want to talk about this, it's okay."

"O'Hara, if Spencer hurt you, I have an obligation as your partner to"

"That's sweet, Carlton."

"It's not sweet!"

She smiled, but the smile didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Thanks, Carlton," She said, sounding sincere as she turned her attention back to her computer.

He couldn't stop the frown that appeared on his face or the need to watch her a moment, to make sure she was ok. Suspicion raised, but knowing his partner wasn't about to disclose anymore, he huffed and turned back to his work, making a note that he may need to clean up his new gun - its first use may give him some great pleasure in the near-distant future.

The next two days were slow at the SBPD and Juliet couldn't remove the rock that seemed to have settled in her stomach. Every time a phone call came to the Chief's office, she felt panic; if it was a case, she'd be happy to get her mind off of it, but if it was a big one...Vick may feel the need to call Shawn and she wasn't sure she was ready to face him yet. Every time the Chief called her into her office, Juliet struggled with what to say and what not to say. She knew she should tell the older woman what she knew; that their major consultant was a fraud.

She couldn't count the number of times she opened her mouth to tell the Chief those very words but something stopped her each time and she knew she couldn't do this much longer and she still had no more of a clue about what to do today than she did three nights ago.

She was angry at Shawn; angry that he put her in this position, angry that he lied to her, the Chief, his clients, and all of Santa Barbara. She was upset he didn't tell her sooner, that he didn't think he could trust her. She was upset she was supposed to arrest him and she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was angry with Gus for letting Shawn go along with this crazy idea and she was mad that her partner was onto her. She was upset that her belief and trust in one man had been shattered in less than a minute. She was angry, she was upset, she felt like she could throw up at any moment, and it didn't seem like it was going to get better.

She didn't know what to do.

Juliet was pulled from her thoughts as her partner came back to his desk. He pulled open his desk drawer and pulled out his keys, casefile tucked under an arm.

"We got a case?"

"No, _I_ got a case."

"What?"

Lassiter just shrugged and closed his desk drawer, turning to leave the station. Confused and annoyed by the brush off, Juliet followed him.

"Carlton!"

"I have to go, O'Hara. If you're unhappy, go talk to the Chief." Lassiter snapped as he lengthened his stride and left her standing in the middle of the station alone.

"O'Hara! My Office!" The Chief yelled and Juliet couldn't help but wince at the call.

Taking one last glance at the doors her partner disappeared through, Juliet turned around and headed into the Chief's office with a sigh.

"Take a seat, O'Hara," The Chief stated and Juliet did as she was told, feeling confusion wash over her. First Shawn, now her partner on a case without her, now the impromptu meeting with the chief...what was going on?

"Is there something you need to tell me, Detective?" The Chief asked, her tone harsh but also soft, as if telling her to spit it out but also to let her know if something was bothering her, she could talk to the older woman.

_Other than your lead consultant is a fraud?_ Juliet opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Silence filled the office for a moment while Juliet struggled to say anything.

"O'Hara, you are a great detective, and even better woman, and when you and Mr. Spencer got together, I put aside department policy about your relationship, and I'm starting to wonder if that was a wise decision on my part."

"Chief"

"Do you remember why, O'Hara, I was alright with your relationship?"

Juliet could feel tears stinging her eyes. She felt like she was five years old and being scolded by her mother. She felt like she was that little girl, covering for her brother while her mother's eyes burned through her, knowing the truth behind her words. She hated the feeling. She hated Shawn for making her feel this way.

"We..." Her voice broke slightly and she cleared her throat, removing the sudden lump that formed and began again. "We agreed it wouldn't affect our work." She whispered.

"O'Hara...Juliet," The Chief held up a report, one Juliet recognized as one she submitted yesterday. "This is your third botched report in two days. If this has to deal with your relationship with Mr. Spencer, I may have to reevaluate my position on your relationship and I don't think any of us want that," She paused a moment before continuing. "If you need someone to talk to, I can assign a department psychologist and you can work with them. O'Hara, you are a damn good detective, and I would hate to see personal emotions or the beginnings of a burn out ruin your career."

Silence stretched between them and filled the office. Juliet couldn't help but wince at the words and all she wanted was to bolt from the office. The walls felt like they were closing in and her chest felt tight. She couldn't talk about this; not with anyone in the department; not before she knew what to do; what she felt.

"O'Hara, I want you to take the rest of the day off," The Chief raised her arm to signal no protests. "You are to clear your head, take care of whatever personal problems you may have, and come back tomorrow, redo this report, and be the detective I know you are."

"Chief, I don't"

"This isn't negotiable, Detective."

"What about the new case?"

"I think Detective Lassiter can handle it himself for now."

Juliet nodded her acknowledgement, not knowing what else to do or say. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was going to do this; she had to do this.

"Chief, I think I need to"

"O'Hara, take the day. If you still need to discuss something with me, we can discuss it then."

"But"

"O'Hara, if it doesn't affect how the job is done...I don't need to know about it."

Juliet lowered her gaze, staring at the floor, blood roaring in her ears, tears burning her eyes. She just needed to get this out, she had to talk to someone.

"If you don't have anything else to discuss, you're dismissed." Vick said, her voice soft but firm.

Juliet nodded her acknowledgement and got up from her chair and left the office, her whole body feeling shaky. She closed the door to the Chief's office behind her and took a deep breath to steady herself. She shaky feeling didn't go away, but she felt like she could stay standing. She crossed to her desk and, on autopilot, grabbed her purse and keys and left the station. She got into her car and started it and that's when she couldn't autopilot anymore.

Where would she go?

Home to an empty apartment (her cats would not be pleased by that statement)? She couldn't see Shawn, not yet. She couldn't talk to Gus because he would talk to Shawn. Her partner was out of the question. She didn't know if she wanted to explain herself to someone in the family and she had no other really close friends living in the area she could hash this out with. She needed to talk to someone, someone who knew what was going on; someone who could offer her advice, someone who understood what her job was and why this was such a huge dilemma.

As she pondered the situation, something inside her clicked. She nodded to herself; determination set on her face and shoved any nervousness or reservations aside.

She knew who she could talk to. She wasn't sure it would be easy, but she had to do it. He had the answers she was looking for and that someone was Henry Spencer.

* * *

><p>Final AN: Can anyone say "dun dun dun!" Ok so the Henry convo was originally planned to be in chapter four...but then I got the idea to do the Lassie part and it really ties in nicely for someone in chapter four (that was probably a big glaring spoiler) but it just worked...so we get to see Henry and Jules talk in chapter four and we also get Shawn again :) I plan to wrap this all up in chapter four but we'll see if it gets away from me again. :) Hope you enjoyed and come back for more! Reviews also get me motivated to write...also, for curiosity...did you catch the cat references (without the help from Google, Bing, Wikipedia, or any other source except your noggin?)?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: WOW! Ok, so sorry this has taken this long to post, but work got busy, and I got sick and this chapter just wasn't ending! While most of it was as I planned, certain sections got away with me a bit (and for the better, in some places) and I'm proud, overall, of how this played out. I toyed with the idea of breaking this into two chapters, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it and I really didn't want to so I'm leaving it as one massive chapter. So, my gift to you, the long awaited conclusion of "Out for a Pound" (though I did toy with the idea of waiting to post until the 29th). Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, alerted, or otherwise enjoyed this fic. I'm humbled and proud by many of your comments and praises, so thank you. I probably wouldn't have had the balls to continue with this if it hadn't been for the words of encouragement coming from all directions, so pat yourselves on the back and know this one is for you guys (unless you hate it, than forget that part). As always, I own nothing, the characters etc are all products of their creators, networks, blah-blah-blah and all that jazz. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Out for a Pound<br>Chapter 4**

The phone was taunting him.

It sat on the desk, just sitting there, not ringing, not being used. It just begged to be picked up, dialed, and held to the ear. He had to mentally restrain himself from grabbing the iPhone and checking to assure the battery was charged, that he hadn't missed the tell-tale ringtone. He had to remind himself why Gus told him it was such a bad idea to pick up the phone and call her.

So, he did what any self-respecting thirty year old would do. He glared at it.

And wished the damn thing would just ring.

And not be his father _again_, asking for some odd chore to be done. At least, that's what he assumed Henry was calling about. It's not like he answered _those_ calls, he shuddered at the thought. Henry probably even knew by now and would yell the instant Shawn answered. Shawn knew that he wouldn't even be able to finish his greeting before his father would rant and rave about how stupid his son is. And this time, Shawn knew his father would be right, so why even bother answering the calls? He didn't need Henry's help to know he messed this one up big.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. His hand reached for phone and he let it flop back onto the desk. He couldn't call her. He couldn't. Gus said he had to give Jules time and damn it, he had agreed. He couldn't remember why, but what Gus had said sounded logical and Gus was right when it came to logical and serious things like this. Not that Shawn would ever tell his best friend that.

The waiting was going to kill him.

He survived just shy of 18 years under the roof of one Henry Spencer. Easy. He survived years with nothing but what fit in a dufflebag and his motorcycle. Easy. He survived being shot. Easy...ok, not very easy, but he got through it. He beat Yang. He nailed Yin. He won every challenge ever sent his way, but waiting for Juliet to just...do whatever it is she was going to do...it would literally kill him. He didn't know how much longer he could take. He was standing on the edge of the Earth, and the wind was blowing a million miles an hour and his pinwheeling arms were the only thing keeping him there. He couldn't keep this up much longer; something had to happen and happen soon.

He groaned and collapsed face-first onto his desk. he needed this to be over and be over soon. This was truly torture.

The door dinged as it opened and Shawn couldn't bite back the heavy sigh.

"Gus, I told you, I'm"

"Spencer."

Lifting his head, Shawn blinked in surprise as Carlton Lassiter moved further into the office. Shawn leaped up from his seat and backed away from the angry look in the Head Detective's eyes.

"Lassie, what brings you to"

Before Shawn could finish, what he thought would be, a witty greeting, Lassiter grabbed the Psychic by his shirt and shoved him into the wall. Shawn winced as his back collided with the wall. It didn't hurt exactly, but it didn't _not_ hurt at the same time.

"Fix it," Lassiter stated, his voice dripping venom as he stared directly into Shawn's confused eyes.

"What?"

"I don't care what you did...but O'Hara has been moping around for three days, and damn it, I miss my happy partner. Whatever it is you did, you fix it."

"Lassie"

The snarl from the Detective caused Shawn to reconsider what he was going to say.

"Carlton, believe me, no one wants to fix it more than I do."

Lassiter's glare did not go away, but he seemed satisfied with the answer. With a light shove, Carlton released the psychic and backed away.

"You don't fix it, not even a _psychic_ will be able to _divine_ your pieces."

"I have no doubt in your abilities, Lassie."

Carlton nodded once and left the office. Shawn winced slightly as he rubbed the back of his shoulder.

"What was Lassiter doing here?" Gus called as he stepped into the office a minute later.

"Coming to inform me he would make due on his threat if I didn't fix what was going on with Juliet." Shawn stated, looking more depressed as he sat down in his chair once again.

Gus looked worried and seemed to consider Shawn's statement.

"Well, at least when you turn up missing, I'll know who to point a finger at."

"Don't bother," Shawn muttered. Gus frowned and studied his best friend for a moment. He was about to push Shawn further about what transpired when the phone rang. Sighing, Gus picked up the phone.

"Psych, this is Burton Guster...oh, Hello Mr. Spencer." Shawn's eyes widened behind Gus' back. As Gus turned to face him, Shawn waved his hands back and forth and shook his head, all indicating a negative. Gus rolled his eyes at his friends' antics. "Yeah, he's here. Hold on a second."

"GUS!" Shawn hissed, looking angry and betrayed at the same moment.

"Yeah, Shawn, like you could avoid Henry forever."

"I can try." He muttered.

"Talk to your father."

"I hate you."

"I know."

Shawn glared as Gus held out the phone, moving it side to side, waiting for Shawn to take it. Shawn pursed his lips, snatched the phone and sighed.

"Hi, Dad."

"Shawn, I was the market earlier and they were having a sale on steaks. I got one with your name on it. You coming to dinner tonight?"

Shawn was silent for a long moment, analyzing the words. There was no angry tone. No growling. Was that a touch of sympathy? No...Henry Spencer didn't do sympathy.

"Shawn?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess." Shawn stated, not seeing another way around it.

He said no, his father would ask why and while he could lie about having plans with Gus, he knew he would just be ordered to invite Gus and that was out. If he wanted to keep what was going on with Juliet quiet, he had to keep Henry and Gus out of the same room, and hell, even the same city, for that to remain buried. Same if he lied even further and said something about Juliet. He had no cases, and even if he made one up, Henry would find out eventually...especially once he got Gus on the phone again, and that would make him even more suspicious.

Essentially, he was screwed. He hated Gus. He had avoided Henry's calls for this very reason.

Shawn glared at his best friend as his father prattled on about dinner and something about boxes. He knew it. Dinner always had a catch with his father. Sighing, Shawn made affirmative noises in all the right places, promised to be on time (yeah right) and hung up the phone.

"I hate you."

"You'll get over it." Gus stated with a shrug, not even looking up from his computer.

"You're lucky it's too late and too much work to break in a new magic-head."

Gus snorted his thoughts on the matter and said nothing else.

* * *

><p>Detective Juliet O'Hara sat inside her car, staring at the house before her, and questioned her reasons for coming here for the millionth time. Several times she had restarted her car and put it into gear, only to put it back in park and shut the engine off.<p>

She wasn't sure what she was thinking and she wasn't sure if this was a good idea now that she was here. She couldn't remember a time she ever talked to Henry Spencer without someone else around her and never for something like this. The two definitely did not have a relationship beyond cordial and she wasn't even sure if he would let her in his house without his son.

Even knowing this, she couldn't leave. Taking a deep breath, Juliet took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. She slammed the door and pocketed her keys as she moved to the front door. Steeling herself, she knocked on the door, uncertain what kind of greeting she would receive.

The door opened and Henry Spencer looked momentarily confused.

"Detective O'Hara, Shawn's not here..."

"I know, Mr. Spencer..." She winced at those words and shook her head. "I mean, I didn't know he wasn't here, I was just..." She cleared her throat and started over. "I was actually looking for you."

Mr. Spencer look amused as Juliet was speaking, his expression looking curious when she finally finished. Henry gave her a small smile and opened the door wide, indicating for her to come in.

"This isn't about a case, is it?"

"No, Sir." She stated as Henry closed the door behind her and led her into the kitchen. He gestured for Juliet to take a seat and she did so.

"Detective, you've been dating my son for awhile now. I think when we're out of the office, you can call me Henry." He stated as he went to the fridge. "Would you like anything?"

"I'm fine, thanks. And...You can call me Juliet."

Henry nodded as he poured himself a glass of water and sat across from her.

"What's going on?"

"I...it's about Shawn," Juliet stated, looking down at her hands, unsure how to ask her questions.

"Juliet, Shawn maybe my son, but I can't claim any responsibility for 99% of what he does."

"I know, Henry. I...Shawn told me the truth." She blurted out. Henry's expression did not give away anything. She decided to clarify. "He told me he's not a psychic." Henry didn't even blink.

"I'm not sure what you're asking me, Juliet."

"He lied to me," Juliet whispered.

Henry barked out a laugh and Juliet looked up, startled by the reaction. Out of every reaction she had prepared herself for, his sarcastic laughter was not something she had expected. She could feel part of herself shrink back and feel almost embarrassed by her confession. Juliet mentally shook her head and shoved that child-like side of her away. She was an adult, Henry was an adult, and they could talk like reasonable people.

"Shawn lies to everyone," Henry stated, as if he were stating the sky was blue or the grass green. "Once he started talking, he started telling stories. The kid is skilled at telling half-truths and pulling the wool over your eyes, but for every lie the kid tells, there is always a grain of truth behind it, you just have to read between the lines." Henry sighed. "But you already know that, or a part of you did. So, Juliet, why are you really here?"

"I just...I'm trying to understand."

"Juliet, I can't claim to understand why my son does what he does"

"He said you trained him. When he was a kid."

Henry sighed and nodded.

"You want the truth?" Juliet nodded, not really sure what to expect from Henry Spencer, but what came out of his mouth next surprised her.

"Do you know how hard it is to raise a child who is smarter than you are?" Henry paused and let that thought sink in for a moment before carrying on. "Every parent on the planet brags about how bright and sweet and charming their kid is, but with Shawn...he inherited his mother's photographic memory; though her gift is limited to sound, Shawn is full eidetic, but more visually oriented. Shawn sees it, he remembers it, it's as simple as that. And somehow, as a parent, you have to teach your kid how to sit through school and pay attention in class and how not to resent the other people around him because they don't see the world the same way."

Henry took a drink of his water and shrugged. "Maybe, I pushed Shawn too hard as a kid, but I like to think that I succeeded in giving him a relatively normal childhood. Do you know how many times I sat in the principal's office, arguing why my son didn't need to be medicated, or transferred to a specialized school, Detective O'Hara? How many times I had to explain that he was just _bored_? Do you know the looks I received every time?" Henry paused at that, and let his words sink in and silence stretched between the two. Juliet wanted to say something to fill in the silence, but there was nothing she could say. She wasn't a parent and she couldn't imagine being in the position Henry was describing to her.

When she thought that Henry had said his peace, he sighed and continued.

"I knew that Shawn isn't normal, so I taught him how to use his ability, how to focus that mind of his on the little details instead of the broad pictures. I taught him everything I knew I could teach him; I taught him how to be the best cop he could be, because, what else was I to do?"

Henry took another drink of his water and sighed.

"Maybe I went too far. Shawn grew to hate me and the idea of becoming a police officer and while I was disappointed he never became a cop, that he never went to the academy and wore the uniform...I made it so he never could."

"You mean, the arrest?" Juliet asked before she could stop herself. She winced after the words left her mouth but Henry didn't seem fazed.

"No, actually. I doubt that arrest would have kept him out if the kid really wanted to be a cop...but no. Think about Shawn and his process. Think about how the force works. Shawn is simply _too_ good. He would never have been able to work on the force and use his abilities like he does. He would be stunted and held back. Police work is all about procedures, protocols, and rules. Shawn, even with his personality, would never be able to go through it all. His brain connects A to M and gets frustrated when no one else can figure out why. He has his own process, and ironically, the very process I taught him to use as a cop, is the same process why he can never be one."

Juliet nodded her agreement, understanding what Henry was saying. Being on the force was like being in a family. Everyone worked together and while they all celebrated one of their owns achievements, they also resented anyone who out-shined too much. They all accepted Shawn because he was expected to know more than them because of his "psychic powers". No one would be happy if they realized Shawn's abilities were all natural; there would be resentment and anger. He'd be sabotaged by his own.

"You weren't there, were you, when Shawn first started this charade?"

Juliet shook her head 'no'. Henry nodded his acknowledgement.

"I wasn't there, but I got the story from Karen much later. Apparently, Shawn used to call in tips to the department and collect the tip money."

Juliet looked surprised, she hadn't known that about him.

"One day, a Detective put it together that this guy knew too much about too many crimes. When Shawn went in to pick up the check, he was pulled into the interrogation room by Detective Lassiter. I guess Shawn told them the truth, that he read the guilt off the news story, or whatever it was that tipped him off, and Lassiter didn't believe him. He told Shawn to tell the truth or he would be arresting him for conspiracy. Instead of being reasonable, Shawn panicked and told them he was psychic, spouted off some observations he made and impressed the interim chief enough to let him on a case."

"They didn't believe him?"

"Would you?"

Silence stretched between them. She was ashamed to admit, that no, she probably wouldn't have. It just seemed so...out there. That someone could do that, read guilt off the TV, to take one look at a crime scene or suspect and know if they were innocent. To appraise someone once and know they had two cats. It just didn't seem possible. And yet...it was.

"I also suspect, that Karen knows." Juliet snapped her head up, and stared at Henry, eyes wide. "She's known all along. Did you know we worked together for a short time before I retired?" Juliet nodded. "I don't remember if she ever met Shawn then...things weren't great between us at that time and the kid was determined to do anything to get on my nerves...but I'm positive he had to have come up in conversation. I'm almost certain his observational and memory skills also came up a time or two as well during rants in the squad room. After Shawn's first case, I had went to the station, determined to tell her the truth. And she asked me one question that stopped me cold. She asked me if he could help and if she could trust him to do the job. That was it; that was all she wanted to know. And I told her she could, because she could trust Shawn to get to the bottom of things, to help solve cases. So, I kept Shawn's secret."

Henry paused and let his story sink in. Silence stretched between the two and Juliet wasn't sure if it was comfortable or not, but she didn't feel the need to fill it by blabbering on. She was too busy trying to wrap her mind around everything she had learned.

"So, Detective O'Hara, I guess the question is, what are you going to do?"

Juliet sighed. That was the question, wasn't it? She looked up at Henry Spencer, trying to read his expression, but he just sat there, stoically, as if she didn't have the very fate of his son in her hands, and she realized, he already knew what she was going to do. He had known the moment she had sat down at his table. He had told her what he told her because he already had her pegged and while that made her angry, she also couldn't help but smile on the inside. Shawn really was more like his father than either man would admit.

"I think I finally know." Juliet answered.

* * *

><p>Shawn breezed into his father's house fifteen minutes later than promised.<p>

"Hey Daddy-oh!" Shawn called as he moved through the living room and towards the kitchen.

"You're late," Henry stated as Shawn breezed into the kitchen. Shawn just shrugged, not bothering to dignify that statement with a response. "Make yourself useful and set the table."

Shawn snorted in response and was tempted to let his father know of the injustices of putting your guests to work, but thought better of it and kept that rant to himself. Knowing he could be forced to do worst, Shawn sighed and moved around the kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers, choosing not to comment on the new syringe thingy (he needed to remember to ask Gus what the heck that was used for) and filed the info away for future use. Having found what he needed, Shawn set the table.

"Surprised you're not skinning still flopping, poor, innocent fishes," Shawn stated as he sat down at the table, trying to keep the conversation away from him.

Henry turned around to give Shawn that look that parents give their children when they do or say something stupid and went back to finishing the mac n cheese on the stove.

"It's called scaling, Shawn, you know that."

"Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to."

Henry sighed heavily, shut off the stove and grabbed a plate before heading towards the door to get the steaks off the grill. Taking that as a sign to start eating, Shawn grabbed his plate, helped himself to the mac and mixed veggies. Within moments, father and son were seated at the table, silently enjoying their meal. It was one of those rare moments between the pair where things were pleasant and no one was holding back a scream. Both of them knew it wasn't going to last long.

"I had an interesting visitor earlier today," Henry stated, breaking the silence.

"Interesting as you got a visit from aliens and they wanted to study your brain, or interesting as in an old friend stopped by and it was unpleasantly awkward?"

Henry just stared at his son for a moment, trying to understand where he came up with the things he said. Part of it made some sense, the other part...giving up, Henry shook his head and ignored Shawn's statements.

"Detective O'Hara stopped by."

Shawn promptly choked on his steak.

"Were you going to tell me you filled her in?" Henry continued, not concerned at his son's reaction.

Coughing a few times, Shawn managed to clear his airway. He stared at his father, trying to figure out where he was going with this. It could be a trap. Did he really see Jules? If he did, it was killing him not to ask what they talked about. And if they talked...that would mean...and if they did talk...what did his father say? His father _never_ ... ok, _rarely_ had a kind thing to say about him. Feeling like a trapped rat, Shawn opened his mouth and closed it, not sure what to say about that.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Yeah...well...who keeps their syringe in the silverware drawer? Come on Dad, that is really unsanitary and were you even going to tell me you had diabetes? I mean, that's kind of something you should tell your only son and all"

"What the hell are you on about?"

"The syringe thingy in the silverware drawer!"

"It's a marinade injector!"

"That's not real! You're making it up!" Shawn stated lamely, trying to keep the subject away from him and Juliet.

"Yes it is, ask Gus or go look it up. And don't think I don't know what you're trying to do, Kid. It aint going to work. Now, what is going on between you and your detective?"

Shawn did his best impression of a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of something, anything to get himself out of this one. He avoided his father's gaze, knowing those eyes were going to be hard and unforgiving, the kind of eyes that made you squirm and spill everything. It was the look that made you five years old again and Shawn hated that look and while he could just get up and leave, he would be leaving knowing his father had won and that rebellious side of him would never admit defeat and leave before he could argue he had won the disagreement. He was stuck. Shawn slumped in his chair and sighed. He pushed his plate away, no longer hungry and held his head in his hands.

"I don't know," Shawn muttered.

"She told me you confessed you're not psychic," Henry stated. "'Bout time, Kid."

"I just...I couldn't keep lying to her about that," Shawn muttered, not looking up from the top of the table. "I knew it wasn't going to be all sunshine and roses when I told her...but I didn't...I don't know what I expected, but I just...I don't know if I did the right thing anymore."

"You did, Kid. Telling the truth is always the way to go, especially to those you care about the most," Henry stated.

Shawn sighed and looked up at his father, meeting his eyes, surprised to see a bit of sympathy there.

"She kicked me out."

"She'll come around, Kid."

"She hasn't talked to me in days...I know I need to give her space, to think things over or whatever, but I haven't gone this long without talking to her since..." Shawn shook his head, trying to remember when it wasn't a daily habit to call or go visit Juliet.

"I know, Kid. I know." Henry stated, getting up from his seat, plate in hand. Henry paused a moment to lightly squeeze Shawn's shoulder as he passed by on his way to the sink.

"What do I do?" Shawn asked, feeling hopeless.

"You give her time, Kid, you just give her time." Henry stated, cleaning up the mess from dinner.

Shawn sighed, not bothering to answer. He glanced at his plate and picked at his food, no longer feeling hungry. He didn't know how much time passed, but Henry interrupted his brooding by taking the plate. Shawn watched him as the older man moved to the sink, frowning.

"Why did Juliet come to see you?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Henry asked as he rinsed the plate and stuck it in the dishwasher.

"What did you talk about?" Shawn asked, his eyes narrowing as he studied his father. Gone was the depressed man trying to win back his girlfriend, this was Shawn on a case, Shawn analyzing every detail, every word as it was happening.

"She just wanted to know more about how your mind works. I told her I can't claim to understand what you're thinking...but she was mostly quiet and I told her what she wanted to know."

"And that was?"

"The truth," Henry stated, as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

Shawn groaned, not even bothering to soften his landing as he dropped face first onto the table.

"I'm so going to jail," Shawn drawled out, his voice slightly muffled by the tabletop.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Kid," Henry stated, and if Shawn heard him, he didn't reply.

* * *

><p>It had been three days since dinner at his father's house; almost a week to the hour since he told Juliet the truth and he still knew nothing more than the obvious: she was upset, and apparently, went to talk to his father. He shuddered again at the thought. No matter how hard he pleaded, Henry wouldn't divulge much more to the conversation that had taken place, but one thing he was able to read. His father wasn't very concerned about the potential outcome which told Shawn two things. His father could care less if his only child was locked up in jail for the rest of his life (and Shawn kind of thought they had moved past that stage of their relationship) or he knew Juliet wouldn't do anything to lock him up.<p>

The door to the Psych office dinged and Shawn sighed as he called out to his partner, "Gus, I swear I'm not going to touch your" Shawn broke off as he stared wide-eyed at the angel who stood in the archway. "Jules," He breathed out, unable to believe that she was really there.

"Hi, Shawn," She said, shifting nervously.

Shawn noted how she didn't quite meet his eyes and he felt his heart sink a bit lower. He couldn't think, couldn't even babble nonsense as she stared back at him. His breath was caught in his chest and he was reminded briefly of the first time he saw her - only he had been a thousand times more suave then. Her blonde hair was mussed, as if she'd spent a lot of time running her hands through it. Her eyes were slightly red and she had light bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, and while she didn't look nearly as perfect as she usually did when she stood in his office, he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the very sight of her.

As he stared at her, he questioned the reality before him; was this just his mind conjuring what he longed to see most? Or was his Jules really standing in the office with him for the first time in a week? As much as he longed to leap out of his chair and touch her, to affirm she was really there, he was frozen, almost terrified to move and ruin the illusion. God, he missed her.

"I um...I just..." Juliet stammered, trying to find her words and at the moment, he didn't care what she had to say. Juliet moved her gaze to the floor, unable to look at him anymore and Shawn snapped out of his funk.

Impulse overcame him and he leaped out of his chair. He crossed the room and stood before her. He placed a hand lightly under her chin and raised her head to meet his gaze. Juliet was still trying to tell him something but the only thing he could hear was the faint buzzing in his ears. She was there. She was really there and she wasn't aiming a gun at him and there were no signs of hordes of police on the way. A surge of confidence overcame him and he closed the space between them and kissed her.

Juliet tensed at first, but he didn't care. She was there and she wasn't slapping him or reading him his rights or any of that official police garbage. She was here on her own accord and damn it, he wasn't going to let her go that easily again. After the first contact, Juliet relaxed and kissed him back, tentatively, but that one action gave him everything he needed to know. His Jules was back.

"Shawn," Juliet said as she pulled away, her voice slightly stern, but he noted the way she seemed a bit more confident than she was before.

"Sorry, I just...I couldn't help it. You were there, and so beautiful that I just couldn't control myself."

"Please, Shawn. I look like crap."

"Never," He said, looking into her eyes and he saw her fight a smile and he knew that things were going to be ok.

"Can we...can we just talk?"

"Anything you want, Jules."

Juliet gave him that look, the look that said she thought he was being a bit of an idiot but he didn't care. She shifted nervously and he noted the way her eyes kept flitting about the office.

"Let's go for a walk," Shawn suggested. "I hear it's nice outside..."

Juliet nodded her agreement and Shawn didn't miss the relief that crossed her face. The pair exited the Psych office and walked across the street to the boardwalk in silence. Silence continued to stretch between them as they walked down the boardwalk, neither quite knowing what to say. Shawn tried to catch Juliet's eyes, but she was looking down, her hands wringing together nervously and Shawn couldn't stay silent anymore. This was stupid.

"OK, this is stupid," Shawn blurted out before he could stop himself. Juliet stopped walking and sharply looked up at him, surprise filling her face. "I don't...I didn't mean it like that, it's just..." He sighed heavily and decided to just go with it. Words were his thing and damn it, he wasn't going to give up on his one major asset right now. "I missed you, Jules, and I know that I screwed up and I probably don't deserve for you to forgive me or look the other way or whatever it is you're thinking and everything I say about it will just be an excuse and won't make it anymore right, but I never meant to hurt you and I said it before and I meant it then and I mean it now that I refuse to be awkward around you because you're the Velma to my Shaggy, and I know I'm rambling but"

"Shawn," Juliet said, cutting him off and slipping her hand in his. Shawn promptly shut up and stared anxiously at her. "Don't let Gus hear you talking in run-on sentences," She teased and Shawn couldn't help but laugh.

"He'd have a stroke," Shawn stated as he laughed with her.

"You're right," Juliet said, looking in his eyes and Shawn just stared at her in confusion. "Not about Gus, though you probably do have a point there, but Shawn, I just...I'm not sure how to say what's on my mind."

"Jules, it's me. Just say it," He said, pleading with her. "You know you can tell me anything."

"You hurt me." Juliet stated and Shawn opened his mouth to say something but Juliet shook her head at him and he closed it and listened. "I know you didn't mean it, but it doesn't change how I feel and while I am not going to tell the Chief or Carlton or anyone else the truth, I'm not ok that you've lied to me about something this big for so long."

Silence stretched between the two for a long moment. Juliet's words were ringing in Shawn's head, his brain analyzing the tone, her expressions, the delivery, every detail, trying to determine what it was she was trying to tell him. He didn't need his analytical skills to tell she was nervous, that she was slightly upset. He needed them to warn him what was coming, because he couldn't take this. He had thought things were going to be ok, but the way she said her last bit...

"Are you breaking up with me?" Shawn asked, his voice low, the words almost whispered as his heart sank to his feet at the very thought. Numbness already started to set in and Juliet looked up at him with wide eyes.

"No, that's...I mean...I don't know," Juliet stammered and Shawn couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips.

"That makes me feel better," He muttered.

"Shawn, I just...can we back up a bit? Slow down? I just...I need time," Juliet stated. "I need to make sure I can still trust you."

"I swear, Jules, I haven't lied about anything else," Shawn paused. "OK, nothing big...except...well, in the interest of full disclosure, I do have to inform you that I really can't bowl," Shawn said, his tone serious. "I mean, I have tried, I really have...but I just...can't...quite...get it."

Juliet couldn't help the smirk that came across her face at Shawn's confession. She sighed.

"Then I guess that settles it. We're through." She stated, her eyes shining and Shawn knew she was teasing him.

"Who wouldda thought, dumped by lack of bowling ability,"

"Real men bowl, Shawn." Juliet stated. "Everyone knows that."

"I can learn," Shawn muttered and brightened. "You could teach me," He bounced slightly, getting excited with the idea. "Oooo! You could wear that roller derby outfit and"

"Shawn, that is not bowling attire," Juliet scolded.

"So?"

Juliet shook her head and reached out for Shawn's hand again, squeezing it lightly.

"Are we, ok?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"_Shawn_."

"Yeah, Jules, We're good." Shawn said, squeezing her hand back. They smiled at each other, and turned around and started walking back to the Psych office, Shawn swinging their linked hands like a small child. Juliet couldn't help but laugh at him and as they neared the Psych office, Juliet stopped. Shawn looked at her questioningly and she met his gaze.

"I almost forgot...I do have one condition."

"What's that?"

"I want in," Shawn just looked confused and Juliet continued. "I want to know more about what it is you and Gus are up to. I want to be there if I can and I want you two to keep me posted on what you're up to."

"I don't know, Jules. You know Gus gets jealous and"

"Shawn, I'm not saying you guys can't do your thing and Carlton and I do ours. I'm just saying that when it comes down to it, I want you to trust me to be involved a bit earlier in your...process."

Shawn nodded his agreement and Juliet smiled. The pair entered the Psych office and Shawn called as he entered the room

"Gus! Our worries are over, I got a beautiful assistant!"

"Shawn, we are not paying for an assistant!"

Juliet couldn't help but laugh at the two bickering friends as she entered the Psych office behind Shawn. While things weren't perfect, Juliet felt better now than she had in a week. Something deep down, told her that with time, the hurt would disappear and become a distant memory.

**~ Finished**

**Final A/N: **and that is a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed, please review, comment, critique, etc *hint hint* *nudge nudge* cuz the only way I will know if you loved it, is if you comment and if I don't see comments, I'll assume it's hated (or vise versa...depends on the day) so you might as well just tell me the truth. For those interested, I do have another fic in the works - well sort of. It's in my head and my Bestie is bugging me to get it to readable form. We'll see. I may get side-tracked again once the rest of the season airs. Also, I have to do a shout out to my Bestie, AJ, who is amazing and just goes with it when I text her and tell her to give me the most random kitchen utensil she can think of - and came up with a Marinade Injector. Seriously? I mean...wth? I can honestly say I thought she was smoking something when I saw that one, lol. Anyway, thanks for being a kitchen guru and rolling with my random thought patterns and telling me to stop being stupid and post what is "perfection" and stop worrying about Henry being in character and Juliet not quite cooperating and Shawn for going off on a random tangent that I hadn't intended (yes, I talk about the characters (also dubbed my Muse) as I write them...crazy? Maybe, but it works). You should all be thanking her too, cuz this little "masterpiece" would still be sitting on my hard drive/flashdrive for my random tweaking for another decade.


End file.
